banana crumb muffins.

the perfect way to use up those old bananas. i actually already have a go-to banana bread recipe (with pecans and orange glaze on top . . .it's kind of unbeatable), but this recipe looked so good i wanted to try it. and i can add them to my list of favorites, because they're so different that i don't feel disloyal. these muffins are much less dense than your standard banana bread (even though the recipe is actually intended to be one loaf of bread) and the sugar on top makes them feel like a crumb cake. i love them.

banana crumb muffins

makes 1 loaf or 8 large muffins

(from bonappetit.com)

1 1/1 cups flour

1 cup + 2 tbs. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (i used 5 really small ones)

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup water

2 1/2 tbs. brown sugar

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees. butter and flour loaf or muffin pan (or use cupcake liners).

2. whisk together flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

3. in a large bowl, whisk together the bananas, eggs, oil, honey and water. add dry ingredients to wet, and stir together with a wooden spoon until blended. do not over stir!

4. transfer batter to pan, filling muffin cups 3/4 full.

5. combine 2 tbs. sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon and brown sugar. sprinkle generously over batter.

6. bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour for the loaf, around 20 minutes for the muffins.

7. let cool in pan for 30 minutes before removing.

peaches and cream muffins.

my sister & i were introduced to these muffins by a lady who helped us sell our house in utah. she made them for an open house and we all fell in love with them. i typically wholeheartedly agree that the muffin top is the best part of the muffin (seinfeld nailed it on the head), but the cream cheese filling inside these guys make biting into them a little bit like heaven.

peaches & cream muffins

(makes 24 regular or 12 jumbo muffins)

ingredients:

2 ¾ cups sugar

4 cups flour

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

3 eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups milk

2 cups canned peaches in syrup

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. almond extract

1 tbs. peach juice (reserved from canned peaches)

½ cup cinnamon sugar

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. drain the canned peaches, setting aside 1 tbs. of juice. dice the peaches.

3. in a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the sugar with flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, oil & milk. fold in the peaches.

4. in a separate bowl, mix together the cream cheese, almond extract, & peach juice.

5. fill greased muffin tins halfway full with batter, then drop a spoonful of cream cheese filling on top. fill the tins almost to the top with more batter, and cover liberally with cinnamon sugar.

6. bake for 15-20 minutes.

i love these muffins straight out of the oven, but they keep well in an air-tight container for a few days.